Bird knocks out power to 2,100 Concord-area Unitil customers for several hours

A bird knocked out power to more than 2,000 Unitil customers in Concord for several hours yesterday afternoon.

About 2,100 customers on the east side of Concord lost power about 1:15 p.m. when a bird made contact with power lines, causing a short, said Unitil spokesman Alec O’Meara.

Power was restored by 3:50 p.m.

Such “animal interference” typically involves birds or squirrels, O’Meara wrote in an email, and “is not uncommon. An animal makes contact with lines and causes a short, opening a fuse. Unfortunately the animal often does not survive. We have animal guards which try to deter this, but it still happens.”